The industrial battery vendor Natrion has opened its new manufacturing site near Buffalo, New York, where it will produce rechargeable lithium and sodium battery technology for electric vehicles, energy storage, and defense applications.Some funding for the project comes from Empire State Development, which said the factory supports the broader New Energy New York initiative, whose goal is to create a national hub for battery innovation and manufacturing.Headquartered in Binghamton, New York, Natrion was founded in 2018 and produces Active Separator, an advanced solid-state electrolyte separator made from a material called Lithium Solid Ionic Composite (LISIC) that is designed to enhance the performance, safety, and lifespan of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.Establishing its global manufacturing center in the new facility in Cheektowaga will allow the firm to increase Active Separator production capacity 40-fold. At full utilization, the new site is anticipated to be capable of supplying the equivalent of approximately 11,000 electric vehicles annually.Natrion is partnered with the U.S. Department of Defense, commercial organizations including LG Energy Solution, and research and academic institutions. Investors backing Natrion include CIRI Ventures, Mark Cuban, TechNexus Venture Collaborative, and Tamarack Global.
